Hapag-Lloyd results on track

March 23 - Hapag-Lloyd achieved a net profit of EUR114 million (USD127 million) in the 2015 financial year, compared with EUR -604 million (USD -674 million) in 2014.

EBITDA amounted to EUR831 million (USD928 million) and the operating result was EUR366 million (USD408 million) in 2015 - both up considerably compared with 2014.

In 2015, Hapag-Lloyds's transport volume rose by 25.3 percent year-on-year to 7.4 million teu. The increases in volume and revenue were primarily attributable to the acquisition of CSAV's container activities, said the shipping line.

"The result for the year is in line with our expectations," said Hapag-Lloyd ceo Rolf Habben Jansen. "We believe that the ongoing consolidation and the upcoming new alliance set-up should add stability to the market, and that there will be some recovery of the market."

Hapag-Lloyd plans to achieve a moderate increase in EBITDA and a clear increase in EBIT in the 2016 financial year when compared with 2015.HLPFI reported on March 3 that Hapag-Lloyd has established special cargo teams for the major markets in Asia and the Americas, as part of an increased focus on obtaining heavy and over-dimensional cargoes for its container ships.